headline fail from foreignpolicy.com

After weeks of fighting, Syrian forces overtake the strategic town of Qusayr


What, was it running somewhere?


In a related NPR story, that service referred to Hezbollah "guerrillas" fighting in Syria. Uh, guys, maybe you haven't noticed, but these chaps are not hiding in caves and ambushing supply convoys. They are a semi-regular fighting force with heavy weapons, fighting in the closest thing we have any more to conventional warfare. They are not guerrillas.

Oh, and NPR Reporter? You are in a city that has seen more than a year's worth of serious fighting featuring not just infantry heavy weapons, but tanks, artillery, and air attacks. Do not express surprise that the streets are "empty" and "like a ghost town". Not if you expect me to respect your intelligence.

my terrible, horrible, no good, very bad Sunday

So, the other night, I was trying to remember a detail about my federal student aid submission. I tried logging into FAFSA.gov, but I had forgotten my PIN, not saved it anywhere, and locked myself out of my account by guessing too many times. Frustrating, as all I wanted was to check one detail.
( Then things went pear-shaped rapidly... )

(no subject)

from a BBC article on homesickness

"People can feel homesick by moving just a street away," says social psychologist Dr Gary Wood. It's all about how we cope with change, he says.

Moving to new places involves having fewer "anchor points" in your life, adds Wood, and "some people tolerate this ambiguity [in their lives] better than others."

...

"Skype and Facebook are great tools to keep in touch with everyone you miss from home," says Watson. "But at the same time actually seeing the people you love, the comfort of the homes you miss, photos of happy times all together over there… it kind of rubs it in [and] can actually make you feel worse off."

"Seeing my couch, my home, my friends together, sometimes makes me feel I'm missing out," agrees Narain, "It's everything I know and it feels far away."